The invention is directed to a method for selecting traffic information to be sent to a terminal by a traffic information center and apparatus for implementing the method.
The object of the present invention is an efficient selection and transmission of traffic information to a terminal for ergonomic presentation, which terminal is as universal or multipurpose as possible.
According to the invention, traffic information which pertains to a geographic area of a road network is selected on the mobile wireless terminal side and/or selected based on the position of the mobile wireless terminal. On the basis of selection information representing the selection of a geographic area, map information pertaining to the selected area is selected in the traffic information center from a digital map of a road traffic network, which digital map is available in the traffic information center. On the basis of the selection information, traffic status information pertaining to the geographic area of the road traffic network and representing the traffic status on road sections of the road traffic network are selected from the traffic status information available in the traffic information center. Graphic traffic information based on the selected map information and on the selected traffic status information is transmitted by mobile radio to the mobile wireless terminal for joint graphic display.
The transmission of traffic information to a graphics-enabled mobile wireless terminal, particularly a WAP-enabled mobile wireless terminal, allows traffic information specifically relating to the location of the terminal without dependence on special traffic telematic terminals.
Further features and advantages of the invention are indicated in the following description of an embodiment example.
A user of a WAP-enabled terminal selects from a menu item the desired city or, alternatively, a highway and/or highway interchange for which the user would like to have a traffic jam map displayed.
The user will receive, in response, the highway network around the selected city on the WAP phone display of the user terminal. In addition, all current traffic disturbances will be displayed graphically in this map excerpt. In so doing, traffic jams (e.g., solid bold marking) are distinguished from sluggish or slow-moving traffic (e.g., shaded marking). The driving direction in which the disturbance occurs can be determined from the display of the disturbance on the corresponding side of the highway.
Alternatively, for example, the displayed traffic disturbances can be further highlighted by blinking on the display.
In addition, the user is given textual detailed information (highway name, start and end of highway, interchanges between which the delay or disturbance occurs, length of delay in kilometers or mileage, cause and, if required, suggestions for alternate routes or additional instructions, e.g., xe2x80x9cdo not throw burning objects from windowxe2x80x9d) about the displayed traffic delays. The user can simply scroll through the user terminal from the traffic jam map to this detailed information.